Health: New Bedford man saved by 'ventricular assist device'

FALL RIVER — After suffering multiple cardiac arrests, New Bedford resident Manny Bizarro would become the first patient to be administered the Impella 5.0, a state of the art "ventricular assist device" available at Charlton Memorial Hospital.

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By SIMÓN RIOS

southcoasttoday.com

By SIMÓN RIOS

Posted Feb. 27, 2014 at 12:01 AM

By SIMÓN RIOS
Posted Feb. 27, 2014 at 12:01 AM

» Social News

FALL RIVER — After suffering multiple cardiac arrests, New Bedford resident Manny Bizarro would become the first patient to be administered the Impella 5.0, a state of the art "ventricular assist device" available at Charlton Memorial Hospital.

And for the lifelong smoker and eater of chorizo and kale soup — it all started because he was a little short of breath.

"For the first time ever he wanted to go see a doctor — for the first time ever," said son David Bizarro, who was at his 74-year-old father's side throughout his heart treatment, which began in September 2013.

"He went in that night complaining of just shortness of breath."

But there was more at stake than just his breath. His heart would stop nearly 10 times, as he suffered multiple organ failure and nearly died. A team of some 10 heart doctors from Southcoast Cardiovascular Services administered Bizarro's care over the next three months.

"Sometimes after heart attacks patients recover," said Dr. Iraklis S. Gerogiannis, the Charlton heart surgeon who led Bizarro's team and performed the surgery that introduced the Impella catheter into his arteries. "In his case he was not recovering."

About five days after Bizarro arrived at the hospital, the family met with the medical team to make "some hard choices," Gerogiannis recalled.

"We said we can do many things. We can just abandon the effort — things are not going well — or we can continue what we are doing, or we can try to do something new, which was the placement of this ventricular assist device, which would take over the work of the heart."

For Bizarro's family this appeared to be the best option, the usage of the Impella device that the hospital acquired two years ago. Essentially a pump, the Impella 5.0 serves as a substitute for the heart, pumping blood to the organs of the body.

Gerogiannis said when the heart is weak it cannot do its job — and using a pump allows the heart to rest.

Bizarro was hooked up to the device for a total of five days, the third of which he had a bypass surgery.

Although ventricular devices have existed for years, Gerogiannis said what's revolutionary about the Impella is its tiny size. He said the risk of infection is dramatically lowered, as the comfort to the patient is greatly increased, even allowing the patient to sit up and walk around.

It was the first time the Impella 5.0 would be used to its full capacity — providing five liters of blood flow — on a patient at Charlton. And it hasn't been used since.

On Dec. 22 Bizarro was finally home in New Bedford, completing nearly three months of treatment.

Bizarro immigrated from the Azores more than 40 years ago. In July he's set to celebrate his 50th anniversary with his wife Monica. She was a textile worker while her husband worked as fish cutter down by the docks, a "typical Portuguese family," by David's estimation.

They had three children, seven grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

David Bizarro pointed to his father's unhealthy habits as the origin of his heart troubles.

Since then Bizarro has quit smoking. And though he continues to eat meats, he does so in moderation, and steers clear of greasy treats like chorizo and kale soup.

Dr. Gerogiannis underscored the importance of good behavior in preventing heart disease — especially in Southeastern Massachusetts, which has the highest incidence of cardiovascular disease in the state.

"You can't control your genes," he said, "... but you can control your lifestyle."

"The solution is prevention — and the best thing that Bizarro has done is he has quit smoking, and that's the message that we want to get out. Because of our lifestyle we are at high risk for these problems, and anything we can do to prevent that would be very, very smart."

According to the hospital, heart disease is the greatest health problem in the region. More than 33,000 people in the area suffer from heart disease, as about two in five residents die from it. Gerogiannis said there has been a major push to develop the cardiac services department at Southcoast Health Systems — with open heart surgery beginning 12 years ago — because of the great needs that the area has with cardiac disease.

Receiving treatment locally was huge for the Bizarro family. Joyce Brennan, communications director at Southcoast, highlighted the benefit of local heart care. Those who are treated in Boston normally aren't able to continue with their local doctors.

"Twelve years ago if you had a heart attack — if you needed open heart surgery — you had to go to Boston or Providence," Brennan said. "Now that level of care is available right there."

Asked how he feels during a morning interview with The Standard-Times, Bizarro shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm OK," he said.

Asked if he feels better than he ever did, his eyes widened. "Oh yeah. I'm trying."